LET'S NOT TEACH OUR CHILDREN TO ASK WHO IS RIGHT AND WHO IS WRONG

What
is happening in Syria is happening in Syria… We aren’t affected by it, you see.
We have our own problems… Why add more worries to our own?

This is human tendency…
You and I, generally, choose to look the other side when it comes to ‘others’
problems. I am no angel or saint. I, too, look the other side, so often, when I
come across ‘others’ problems’…

A dear friend of mine
has been showing her concern towards lakhs of little children affected by the
brutal Syrian war. She has been sharing heart-wrenching images to make her
friends, like me, feel a little more sensitive and empathetic towards these
helpless children, who are caught in the crossfire of human greed and ego.

I don’t do what this
friend of mine does about Syrian children… Yes, both of us live here, thousands
of miles away from Syria… Both of us are ordinary citizens… We are aware of our
limitations… “What can we do to change the situation in Syria?” Yes, this
question comes to our mind. Yet, my friend has chosen to sensitize people like
me. “If we can’t do anything at all, let’s, at least, ‘feel’ and pray for these
children”… that’s her message, “Let’s not ask: “Why the problem started?” “When
the problem started?” “Who is responsible?” “Who is right and who is wrong?”

To
me, Syria – for that matter, any war-torn place like Vietnam, Cambodia, Bosnia,
Iraq, Afghanistan, whichever place it may be - yes, to me, it’s just a metaphor.
A war outside is just a manifestation of the war inside… It starts from human
greed and ego. A war of one kind or the other is constantly being waged around
us, inside us… We know its consequences: how dangerous, horrific and
devastating they are. Yet!!!

To me, these innocent
children of Syria and any other war-torn zone are reminders: It’s when we plant
seeds of love and peace in little children, there is hope for this planet. When
we plant bombs, we can only expect more bombs!

“Men build too many walls and not enough bridges,” said Joseph Fort Newton. You and I may not be
able to solve the conflict in Syria… We may not be able to help her innocent
people, particularly the children. But, we can certainly cultivate more empathy
in our bosoms… We can certainly teach our children never ever to ask: ‘How is
started?” “Why it started?” “Who is responsible?” “Who is right and who is
wrong?”

Our children need to be
sensitized towards the futility of waging wars… of greed and ego. They need the
education of heart. As Theodore
Roosevelt said, we need to teach them to be more caring rather than more ‘knowledgeable’…

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